This was my 5th year and still one of my favorite races. The weather was perfect and I had a lot of fun. My race itself was not one of my better ones, but I didn’t care, it was a good time! The race is 5 miles through the various trails of Golden Gate Park. There’s also a 3 mile walk and 3 kids races for various age groups. Plus, there’s a ton of prizes for the winners and a HUGE raffle at the end. In fact, this was the first year I didn’t win anything in the raffle. Proceeds benefit the track teams for Lowell and Washington High Schools.

Sunrise before the race

Washington High School band

the kids racing across the Polo Field!

Turtles chillin on Spreckles Lake

I am very thankful this Thanksgiving Day Weekend for being healthy. I am thankful for, no matter how slow, being able to run. I can and will get faster! I have decided to really make it a top priority to attain maximal health and fitness, no matter what in 2018, so I’ll get a head start in the weeks before the new year. Sure, I overate and have a couple extra pounds, but now it’s time to get serious and dive headlong into fitness!

Today I ran 6 miles in the pouring rain. It was not the most fun time running nor was it my best time. I wore my running rain jacket and strapped on my Osprey Hydration pack. It was a multipurpose trip because I had to pick up my race bib for the Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot and I had to buy my turkey. Because the turkey would be heavy, I needed to bring a sturdy shopping bag and my pack is the only running pack I have that I can stash the bag in. So much preparation!

I ran to Sports Basement in the Presidio to get my bib, one of my favorite places and then ran back to Safeway in the Marina, making up my run. Thankfully, the rain had stopped as I made my way home.

These are not easy days for many of us. For me, my medical insurance is skyrocketing next year. I don’t know how I’m going to make it. I can only put my faith in God and know that somehow things will work out. I pray every night for guidance.

On the positive side, I may have a running partner once a week. I was talking to a couple people at the YMCA and one very friendly woman was saying how she wished she had a running partner one night a week. I did explain that I’m not very fast but that didn’t matter to her.

One of the reasons why I don’t do group runs is that in San Francisco, the runners are very fast. Group runs usually consist of runners who can run 7:00 to 8:00 minute miles. The slow ones go 10:00 minutes per mile. I could never keep up with that, so I am usually always the slowest. I don’t want to be the slowest. I don’t mind once in a while, but always the slowest isn’t much fun and those who are faster can never understand that. They’re always very nice about it, but they don’t get it. So, for me, it’s better to run by myself; there’e much less stress and feelings of complete inadequacies.

So, we shall see if my running partner works out. And we’ll see if I can find that elusive personal trainer’s position I’ve been striving to find…..

I don’t want to end this on a negative note. I am very thankful for what I do have. I have a never-say-die attitude. I will not give up, I will not stop working towards what I want and neither should you.

Every year on Thanksgiving, there is a small race in Golden gate Park. This little race raises money for the track department for Lowell High School, so it’s the highlight for many in the San Francisco west side community.

But what happened this year had all of us completely stunned. The race directly Steve, sent us an email the day before letting us know that the UHaul van, holding all of the t-shirt and many of the goodies to hand out after the race, including water and food, was stolen, right from in front of his house!

This was terrible, shocking now. It was taken from a good neighborhood and anyone who knows anything about San Francisco, knows that every neighborhood is expensive. It’s not like there’s a cheap area here any longer.

So, Steve and many race participants scrambled to gather as many replacement items as they could, so we had what we needed for the race, except for the shirts. Which is sad. They’re not performance shirts, they’re white, cotton, but still worn with pride by racers knowing their race fees went towards a good cause.

Prize Table

When I got to the race, I checked in with people and saw that for the first time, a news station van was there. If it took a theft for the news to cover a race that’s been happening for years, so be it. People were in great spirits waiting for all the races to begin. There were first the kids runs. There were a few different age groups and the kids run with the Turkey, who leads them across the width of the Polo Fields. Then they’re each giving a small stocking filled with candy. Fortunately, those weren’t taken.

After the children’s races, the 5K walk and the 5-mile run began. They start at the same time, but then the 5K turns off and finishes which the 5-miler goes a bit farther. I love this race because it’s mostly on trails throughout the western section of Golden Gate Park.

My friend Steve and Me

This year, many runners weren’t used to the trails, it appeared and some tripped and fell. Also, there were a couple loose dogs one runner had. I asked him to please leash his dogs because I nearly tripped on the smaller one who kept running in between us.

Next year the race will come back stronger than ever. I can’t help but wonder why moving companies don’t have GPS on their UHaul trailers though…

I did PR and cut 2 minutes from my previous best time. It was a good race and a great morning.